Word Origin & History

canny 1630s, Scottish and northern England formation from can (v.) in its sense of "know how to." Often used superciliously of Scots by their southern neighbors, implying "thrift and an eye to the main chance."

Example Sentences for canniness

He gave a remarkable proof of his canniness in the successful outcome of his bargaining with the trustees of the British Museum.

A dog is singularly destitute in what is called in Scotland, canniness.

It was in the morning that the landlady showed her canniness.

Andrew Carnegie tells a good story illustrating the canniness of the Scot.

With the canniness of her new-found love, Avice approached the subject in a roundabout way.

The verses rang with New England canniness, and the familiar dialect acquired a dignity never before acknowledged.

He was, in a way, a Paul Revere spreading intelligence, and with Scotch canniness made a good bargain for himself.

People looked askance upon them as Scots, while innkeepers hated them for their poverty and their canniness.

Malcolm, with the canniness of his kind, at once told her he had had no luck.

Carson, with the canniness so characteristic of the American, was not to be so easily convinced.